Notes on the Mocloutsie Cemetery Near Bobonong, 1890s: A Re-Appraisal

Abstract

The old colonial cemetery at Macloutsie near Bobonong in eastern Botswana contains the graves of policemen, military men and civilians. The cemetery was once close to a thriving settlement and on the famed ‘road to the north’ used by European missionaries, traders, explorers and others from the Cape Colony to the interior of Southern Africa in the pre-colonial period. Five of the graves are marked and identify the deceased. The remainder are not marked and we assess the likely identity of those who are buried in these graves. Earlier attempts are re-examined by going back to primary sources, in so doing discrepancies were found. This article puts on record the information gathered over a number of years about the place providing names and some details of those probably buried at the site.